Author's Note: Here is our next chapter! We get to focus more on Harry's initial healing and the interaction between the Malfoys, Severus, and Harry. There's a bit of a summarizing of the previous chapter and getting Harry introduced and caught up on a few things.

Chapter 3: Malfoy Manor

Lucius Malfoy was in the family room with his wife, Narcissa and their nine-year-old son, Draconis. It had been a rare day off for him and he was glad to be spending it with his family. He and Draco were reading different books while Narcissa was embroidering a new pillow case when the house elf popped into the sitting room sounding hysterically frantic. "Mister Severus is here with a dying child! Tipsy is bringing him here!" the elf squeaked, sounding horrified even to the three of them. Before Lucius could reply the door burst open by the affect of powerful and frantic magic. Severus rushing through soon after and never had any of the Malfoys seen the usually stoic man so panicked, worried, and scared. Then they saw what- or rather who- was in his arms. And they were horrified by the child's condition.

"I need you help Lucius, Narcissa. Please." Severus gasped out, and it was clear that the man hadn't stopped running until that moment. Lucius's silver eyes hardened.

"Come, well take him to a guest room. Dobby! Bring the S Grade potions kit to the Green Room. Tinker, bring bowls of hot and cold water with cloths to clean the injuries." He nodded to Narcissa, knowing his wife would take care of their horrified and probably shocked son and work on getting the small boy a change of clothes and whatever else she would need to properly help tend the injuries. And Merlin, that was too much blood for something so small. The two men rushed to the closest guest room and immediately set to work once Severus had settled the boy onto the bed. He was so dwarfed by the large bed. Lucius's heart ached. He immediately began to cast a diagnosis charm on the boy, hoping to find out how bad things were. Severus watched on in worry. He himself would usually do this, but the transfiguration technique he had used had drained a lot of his magic, due to it being permanent and dark.

Lucius was horrified by the list in his hands.

"Lucius?" Severus asked, seeing the alarmed look on his face just as Narcissa and Draco came into the room, the elves having already left the items they had been charged with getting. Severus wondered when, exactly, they had done that.

"It's not good. Severus." Lucius grimaced. "Broken ribs, a puncture lung, several lashes on his back and arms that are the cause of his blood loss, broken wrist, and three broken fingers. A severe concussion, and his magic is draining itself trying to purge blood that's been poisoned by a severe infection and a 40-degree Celsius fever." Lucius explained. "And that's not taking into account the severe undernourishment and the old injuries that haven't healed properly over the years." he finished, horrified by the list of improperly treated injuries from when the boy was four and on.

"Then let's get to work." Narcissa said with steely determination at helping the boy. It took hours, to heal and repair the damage they could. But some of it was going to take years, such as the malnourishment. Some of the old breaks that didn't heal properly would need to wait until the boy was stronger to fix. But they did what they could. By the time they were finished, it was dark out and the boy's fever was down some. Not gone, but at least not worryingly high any longer. In addition, the infection in his blood was purged, and his magic was finally flowing to other things, running its own diagnostic of the boy's condition. The three adults and Draco watched the small and tiny chest rise and fall, no longer a staccato, but steady. As they ate some light food after not eating for so long, the Malfoy matriarch finally asked what she had wanted but held off on. "Severus, who is this child?" he looked familiar, but she couldn't place why.

Severus let out a long, heavy sigh. "This boy was Harry James Potter." Severus answered.

"And how did he come to be in this condition?" She asked, hiding her shock at the admittance.

"After I left on that 'mission' when the Potter twins were four, Dumbledore and the Potters decided to leave Harry with Lady Potter's muggle sister." Severus said, tone harsh at the mention of Dumbledore and the Potters. He would never forgive them for this. And he was glad he had the next year to not have to worry about either of them. Neither Lucius nor Narcissa commented on him not referring to Lady Potter by her name.

"You said he was, Harry James Potter?" Lucius asked, zeroing in on the tense that Severus had used. Severus nodded.

"For all intents and purposes, Harry James Potter is lying dead under the stairs of his aunt and uncle's house." Severus answered, grimacing at the image.

"What now?" Draco asked his parents and godfather after several long moments of silence. Severus swallowed thickly.

"That... That will be up to the child." he answered his godson. He was both nervous and hopeful about what would come. Harry obviously remembered him, which he was relieved about. But that didn't mean the boy would consent to staying with him when he had Black or Lupin as back up guardians. So, he decided that they would wait for the boy to wake up. Draco and his parents retreated to bed, with strict instructions for Severus to alert them if Harry woke up, and that he gets some rest himself. Harry didn't wake up until the next evening, his magic speeding up the process now that it wasn't so heavily focused on the blood infection and fever.

When Harry woke up, the first thing he noticed was the pale canopy that wasn't the cupboard. The next thing he noticed was that he wasn't in as much pain as he had been when last he was conscious... whenever that was. There was the sound of cloth shifting and then he saw a gorgeous pale, feminine face with steel blue eyes, and shining ash blonde hair. He immediately noted features he remembered from Sirius's own face and knew that this was Narcissa Malfoy nee- Black. He remembered Sirius mentioning her once or twice, though that was it. "You're awake little one. How are you feeling?" The woman's soft voice asked. Harry blinked a few times before trying to speak.

"I feel better. Like I was healed with potions." he answered, and she helped him to sit up with a smile as he still felt weak, despite the lack of pain.

"You were little raven. My own specially made recipes." a voice confirmed, deep, familiar, and safe.

"Sev." the boy breathed out, knowing that voice anywhere. He turned in that direction to see the dark-haired man next to a tall platinum blonde man with silver eyes and fair skin. 'Lucius Malfoy.' Harry knew. He looked over the three adults, noting another boy in the room with them that looked like his father almost exactly. Well, the Malfoy males tended to take after their fathers while the girls would take after their mothers so that was explainable. Though he couldn't remember the boy's name. He would learn it later, he decided.

Severus smiled softly at the boy. "Hi little raven. I'm so sorry I didn't get to you sooner." Severus apologized.

Harry shook his head. "It's certainly not your fault Sev. It's not like anyone thought the Potters would abandon me, or that the Dursleys would move us without telling anyone." he replied. Severus wanted to argue that he should have known something, but Lucius putting a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Lucius could see that Harry not blaming Severus was something the boy would be stubborn about. Of course, Lucius agreed. It had been completely unexpected, even if no one thought to question that there was one less Potter child in the papers save once a long time ago.

"Harry." Lucius began, noting how Harry had addressed the Potters separately from himself. "You were severely injured when Severus brought you here. Would you mind telling us everything that had happened, leading up to now?" Lucius asked gently. Harry nodded. He and Galen had talked a lot about what to do if Harry ever escaped the Dursleys. Something Harry had been thinking about more and more in the past month especially. And it was agreed that Harry wasn't going to keep what they did- what the Potters allowed- a secret. What the Dursleys had done to him was monstrous and inhumane. They wanted to claim normality yet acted the exact opposite of that. Hypocrites to the extreme, not that Harry would have ever told them that to their faces.

And Tom had insisted, in the handful of times they had talked, to try getting to Severus or the Malfoys. That had been a surprise to Harry until Galen had admitted that despite what Albus Dumbledore and the Order thought, Severus was Tom's spy. Not Voldemort's, the insane man that was practically a walking dissociative identity disorder by the end of things. Tom Marvolo Riddle who had been smart, powerful, charismatic, and wanting what was the best for the magical world. It was a year before the prophecy was heard that Tom had truly become Voldemort, the psychotic, blood supremacist that even most of his knights, as they were originally called, wanted nothing to do with. But they stayed out of loyalty for who the man once was. For the man who would sometimes, though rarely, make an appearance.

Shaking his head from that memory, Harry explained about being left with the Dursleys just a month after Severus had left, how things only really escalated shortly after they had moved. He told them of the impossible chore list, the verbal and physical abuse whenever the Dursleys were displeased or he accidentally used magic. The withholding of food and the cupboard which eventually became his room. "Things got better when I was seven though!" Harry said.

"They lightened up on the abuse?" Draco asked in disbelief, not seeing how anything could have been considered 'better' in his situation save that. Harry shook his head.

"Nope. But I met Galen, and he trained me on how to manipulate my magic to heal me better than it was doing before while also not taking away the visible marks to prevent Vernon getting worse." Harry explained.

"And who is this, Galen?" Severus asked, relieved that Harry had someone, but worried about who they were.

"He's my familiar, a velso serpent I met in the garden." Harry answered with a fond smile. Then he frowned. "I really hope he doesn't freak out when he returns from hunting and I'm not there." he added worriedly.

Severus decided to put the fact that Harry was a parselmouth- something that should be impossible as only Tom was supposed to be the last one to be able to speak that language in Britain, due to him being the Heir of Slytherin- on the back burner for the moment. "We may have a problem. Technically speaking, Harry James Potter is dead under his aunt and uncle's stairs. So, while- Galen?" Harry nodded with a concerned frown. "So, while Galen should be able to tell that it isn't you if what I've read about velso serpents is correct, he may have trouble finding you." Severus grimaced. He believed Harry when the boy said the snake was his familiar, but that meant they would need to try and find the snake as it was never a good idea for familiars and their magical bonded to be separated for too long. He could only imagine how Nagini was managing with her wizard's disappearance.

"You're a parselmouth?" Draco asked in awe. "I thought only the Dark Lord was a parselmouth!" He blurted, wincing at the sharp looks his parents sent his way. They tried to keep Draco out of the conversations about the Dark Lord and the war in general. They certainly hadn't known that the nine-year-old knew about that.

"He is... Technically. But soul bonds are a tricky thing according to Tom and Galen." Harry replied with a shrug.

"I'm sorry?" Lucius asked. There was only so many ways for that sentence to be taken.

"Later." Narcissa sent her husband a look that made him nod. "Please continue with what you were telling us first Harry. Then we can discuss Tom and Galen's words at a later time." she told the boy who nodded. So, Harry continued with how Galen had taught him to control his magic to better heal himself and how, when he was eight, Tom- the piece of him that was in Harry's head- had started to wake up. He explained about how they were healing the sanity of the man on a whole, with shared thoughts and magic when they could, but how the piece of Tom would use its own limited magic to help heal Harry when Vernon took things further than normal. He finished his tale by explaining how Galen had gone hunting because a beating like the one Severus had seen the results of didn't usually happen so close together and they had all three thought Harry would be safe long enough for a short hunt since Galen hadn't eaten in weeks before then.

It was silent for a while as Harry allowed the others to process his words. Draco, sensing that Harry was nervous decided to take Harry's mind off the adults and began a conversation about Hogwarts. Draco was a smart boy. He understood, now, why there had always been one less Potter on the cover of the Prophet and he also understood that the boy, who was more than a foot shorter than him, had gone through something horrible and awful. But his parents and godfather would not allow it to continue and would keep the small boy safe. Draco was confident about that, not realizing that the three adults were in agreement with the same thoughts. "You could totally get back at the Potters by out doing Liam Potter in school." Draco told the boy excitedly. His parents never liked the Potters but kept their opinions to themselves because his Uncle Severus had been friends with the Lady Potter. But even Draco could see that Severus would have nothing to do with them after what they had done to the boy Severus would have been the godfather of at one point. And there was no way Harry wanted anything to do with them now either after abandoning him to the hell he had gone through.

"I'd like that." Harry nodded with a smile at the thought, before he frowned. "I'll need to try and keep away from them until I can figure something out about my identity though." He muttered before looking up at the adults. "I haven't heard anything from the magical world since the Dursleys moved us... What's happened in the past five years?" he asked timidly. There had only been so much that Galen could tell him after all.

Severus looked at the Malfoys, as they would have a better idea than him. Taking their cue, Lucius began first with some of the basics of what had been happening before he moved on to the Potters. "Well, the Potters have been on the front pages often enough. The papers only brought you up once. Their reply was that you had been sent to stay with some relatives because Liam's fame had made you uncomfortable and they wanted to save you from being uncomfortable in the spotlight on your brother. Wizarding Britain accepted it without question." Lucius grimaced. "In other news, though, the illegal werewolf hunts have reached a peak. I believe Remus Lupin left the country a few months ago when it had gotten too dangerous to stay." The man looked at Severus who had nodded.

"Lupin left the Potters and has been looking for you since he discovered they had left you with Petunia, a few months after you were left with them. Black didn't, because he couldn't bring himself to leave his own godson, but he's kept in touch with Lupin until the man had been forced to leave the country for his own safety. Black kept up the search and it was thanks to his information that I was able to find you after returning from Albania yesterday." Severus explained. Harry nodded as he took in those words. It was relieving, to the small boy, that Remus and Sirius at least, hadn't abandoned him like their friends had. He would have to figure out what to do about them later when he got more settled... Whenever that would be. Merlin, Harry didn't even have a plan!

"I suggest that we shelve the more serious discussions for tomorrow and have some dinner, what does everyone say?" Narcissa said, and the others nodded when Harry's stomach let out a loud rumble at the mention of food.

"When is... Galen, expected to return to that place?" Severus asked Harry.

"Tomorrow morning, I believe." Harry replied. Severus nodded.

"In that case, I'll try to be in the area so he can track me, and I can bring him here." Severus assured the boy who smiled blindingly at him in thanks. As they ate dinner, Harry not eating nearly as much due to his inability to eat large meals, they discussed Hogwarts, its houses, the classes, and the children's expectations for their years there. The adults just let the conversation wash over them as they took in what they had heard that night, sometimes chiming in and getting a laugh or nod from the boys. It wasn't much later that the boys ended up falling asleep in the bed and the adults, smiling fondly at the way the two boys had so quickly hit it off, left them to sleep. Something both boys, but especially Harry, needed. They shared a look before retreating to Lucius's study. There was much that they would need to discuss that night, including what they would be discussing with Harry tomorrow.

Author's Note: 40-degree Celsius is 104 degrees Fahrenheit. There we have it. I know it's short, but the chapters for this story are going to be bite-sized until we start rolling. I don't know if that'll be closer to the end of this one or the start of the next one. The next chapter is going to be the Dursley chapter from the first story and it's going to be the shortest one in this story I believe. I doubt there's going to be much change to it, but we'll see as I work through it. I hope you liked the story and again, your feedback is appreciated! Am I doing a decent job for the rewrite? Let me know!